With Girtz’s last two fights going to the judges and going the wrong way, was he perhaps a little hesitant, with the knee in the back of his mind? And is he aiming to avoid those judges again?
“Absolutely, I mean both things you nailed on the head. My first fight against Piccolotti, I was definitely very hesitant. My second fight, I don’t feel like I was that hesitant, I was definitely exploding off the knee going into that fight, but I’m not looking to keep it to the judges” Girtz replied. “I felt like there was a few things I held back, and I can’t let it go to the judges. It’s going to go back to the same judges that I just had the last fight [against Fernando Gonzalez], and I didn’t feel like many of them judged the fight too well. So I’m not letting it go get into their hands again.”
Bad judging is always a hot topic in MMA, and combat sports in general. Coming out of the Manny Pacquiao/Jeff Horn fight, it was once again at the forefront of the media and fan chatter. So what is Girtz’s take? Does MMA judging need to be overhauled?
“Yeah absolutely. Funny thing is, I’ve been seeing on that Pacquiao fight people saying ‘this doesn’t happen in MMA and UFC'” he explained. “I’m just laughing. You see it happen all the time. They’re just not as big of a huge fight like the Pacquaio fight was, but it happens all the time.”
Expanding on that, Girtz added “Judging, the problem is, it’s an opinion of somebody and half these people, more than half these people have never fought in their lives, they don’t really know much about it. I don’t feel like most of them are qualified to be judging fights. I feel like judges should start to be sort of like the refs, they should be going around to all these different states and they should all be qualified and high quality people that are getting paid good money to be judging, because they’re screwing over a lot of people’s lives.”
In short, Girtz doesn’t want to see the judge’s scorecards any time soon. But is there any pressure to repeat the quick performance he put on at Bellator 146, when he knocked Campos out in thirty-seven seconds?
“I don’t feel like the pressure’s on my shoulders. I feel like all the pressure is on Derek. You go out there and you lose in thirty seconds, that hurts. We train hard for these fights and I know Derek does too. If you go out and you lose in thirty seconds, that’s not even a fight if you ask me.”
Having said that, Girtz added “I’m not going out there thinking I’m knocking this guy out in thirty seconds. Am I thinking I’m going to knock him out in the first round? Sure, but there’s no pressure.”
With this being the rubber match of a trilogy, the two fighters are obviously very familiar with each other. So how does Brandon Girtz feel Campos has grown as a fighter?
“I’ve watched all Derek’s fights, I like Derek. I’ve kept up on his career, and every time he’s fighting, I’m watching his fights” Girtz admitted. “Things I’ve seen that he’s changed in, you know he believes in himself, but I feel like he’s always been a fighter that goes out there with heart and pushes forward. He’s aggressive.”
Still, the Minnesota native sees some flaws. “The deal with him, I think he’s a very good fighter, the problem is when he goes against someone like me or Michael Chandler, where he knows their wrestling ability is better and that he only has one way to win the fight, he’s a little gun shy. He’s not the same Derek. Because he doesn’t have that wrestling ability.” He explained this further, adding “When Derek goes out there, most of the time he’s the better wrestler, he’s got the better takedowns, takedown defense but when he goes against somebody like me, he already knows in his head he doesn’t have the better wrestling, he doesn’t have the better takedown defense so I think that kind of hinders him a little bit, it makes him hesitant.”
With that in mind, what’s the game plan come Bellator 181?
“The game plan is to push forward. I can never say if it’s going to be on the feet or if it’s going to be on the ground. I let my instincts take over” Girtz said of what he’s anticipating in the main event Friday. “I hit what I feel, if that’s taking him to the ground or that’s keeping it on the feet. I don’t just shoot wild shots, I’m not just there to drag someone to the ground.”
“I take my shots when they’re open or I keep it on the feet” he summarized. Ultimately, “I think it’s going to be a good war. Derek comes to fight, and I always come to fight.”
With Michael Chandler almost certainly getting the next title shot against Brent Primus, however, would Girtz consider going back to welterweight, where he faced Fernando Gonzalez earlier this year? In short, no, as the lightweight confirmed that 155lbs is his home, unless the right fight were to come along. So where does Girtz feel he fits in the lightweight division as it stands in Bellator today?
“After I take out Derek, I feel like it puts me right back there in the top five” Girtz told us. “Derek’s in the top five right now. I feel like with a win over Derek, they need to give me another top guy, and then I’ll be right in the mix of the next title fight. It backs it up a little bit, but I definitely feel after two more wins, I’ll be sitting right back there in title contention again.”
The road back to title contention starts Friday at Bellator 181. And on that, Brandon Girtz made clear that he’s planning on putting on a big performance. “It’s going to be an amazing fight. It’s going to be a war!”
Bellator 181 takes place Friday, July 14 at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville, Oklahoma. Brandon Girtz meets Derek Campos in the rubber match of their trilogy in the main event, live on Spike TV.
